The Effect of Patriotic Messages on Restaurant Tipping
Document Type
Conference Paper
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Applied Communication Division at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association
Publisher
National Communication Association
Publication Date
11-1-2003
Abstract
This study compared the effectiveness of 2 types of patriotic messages with a warmth/ ingratiation message and a control condition on restaurant tipping. Two female food servers waited on 100 parties eating dinner. When diners were finished with their meals, servers left them 1 of 4 messages on their checks: “Have a Nice Day,”“God Bless America,”“United We Stand,” or no message. Results indicated that parties who received the “United We Stand” message left significantly higher tips than did those receiving no message or the “Have a Nice Day” message. No other significant differences were found. These results and their implications are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Seiter, J. S., & Gass, R. H. (2003, November). The Effect of Patriotic Messages on Restaurant Tipping. Paper presented to the Applied Communication Division at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association, Miami, Florida.
